Through 2017, global demand for doors and windows is expected
to rise 7.1 percent annually to $223 billion, significantly exceeding
the growth rate of the 2007-2012 period, according to World Windows and
Doors, a new study from The Freedonia Group Inc., a Cleveland-based industry
market research firm.

China was the world’s largest door and window market in
2012, and will see its share of global demand rise to 36 percent of the
total in 2017. Rapid demand gains are also expected in the other developing
areas of the world—particularly in the Africa/Mideast region nd South
America. However, gains will be slightly below the world average, as the
global financial crisis did not have as strong an impact as in the developed
areas, and these regions are starting from a higher 2012 base. Rising
personal incomes will lead to the adoption of more Western-style building
practices, encouraging the use of modern doors and windows and boosting
demand gains.

Single-Family Pushes Housing Starts Up
in August Led by a solid increase in single-family starts, nationwide
housing production rose 0.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate
of 891,000 units in August, according to figures released by the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.
Meanwhile, construction of multifamily buildings slowed following a rebound
in the previous month.

Single-family housing starts rose 7 percent to a 628,000
unit pace. Regionally, single-family starts activity rose 9.6 percent
in the Northeast, 7.1 percent in the Midwest, 2.3 percent in the South
and 17.5 percent in the West.

The annualized rate of multifamily production fell 11.1
percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 263,000 units.

Remodeling Gains to Continue into 2014
General strengthening in the housing market over the past 18 months is
translating into increased spending on home improvements, according to
the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) released in August
by the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies
of Harvard University. Remodeling contractors have been reporting improving
market conditions for the past four quarters, and are seeing strength
in future market indicators.

“Homeowners are more comfortable investing in their homes
right now,” says Eric S. Belsky, managing director of the Joint Center.
“Consumer confidence scores are back to pre-recession levels, and since
recent homebuyers are traditionally the most active in the home improvement
market, the growth in sales of existing homes is providing more opportunities
for these improvement projects.”

291 Markets Improve in September A total of 291 metropolitan areas across the country now qualify as
improving housing markets, according to the National Association of Home
Builders/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI) for September. This
reflects a gain of 44 markets from August.

In September, 242 housing markets retained their existing
positions on the IMI while 49 new markets were added and five were dropped
from the list. Recent additions include such geographically diverse locations
as Macon, Ga.; St. Cloud, Minn.; Brownsville, Texas; Spokane, Wash.; and
Milwaukee, Wis.